COVID-19 News and Discussions

[raklian]

Finally flattened the curve, didn't we, eh?

[erowind]

.

[Xyls]

Some good news on the vaccine research front tonight... Not exactly sure this is a UCV vaccine but it sounds much more interesting. However, probably has to do all the clinical trials again if it isn't based on the mRNA types which means this may not be ready until 2023 at most and then you will have to convince people to take another technology type that hasn't been tried before... and that is only if manufacturers have the capabilities to make it en masse...

If this is indeed a UCV vaccine then hopefully the principles used here can also be used to make a universal influenza vaccine which would massively reduce the chances of a future pandemic in the next century...

[Xyls]

Is it that insane though? I already said that we should stop trying to save these people. If you get severely ill from COVID and are unvaccinated by choice (not medical condition/too young) you should die at home and not be admitted. Not the HCW jobs to deal with this. I'm growing tired of listening to people complain about this kind of behaviour when we know what the solution is for these people. Go home and let the quack docs pay a health visit so we can fully sever these people's last few attachments to reality.
Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.

Yes it is insane. I don't like the trouble the antivaxxers are putting us through, it's caused me extreme emotional distress having to deal with some of them in my own social groups the past two years. However, the current government policy amounts to, "let them die," which in turn affects all the people are doing what they're supposed to be doing.

In my opinion I think this policy choice is just another excuse for more austerity. The capitalists are utterly heartless in the face of generating more profit. It has been two years and developed nations are still facing bed shortages, this is horrid and completely unacceptable, it amounts to nothing more than thinly veiled malthusianism. Industrial nations have the capital and industrial might to build enough beds for everyone. There is no good reason this didn't happen over the past two years. Instead hospitals are still adopting a Toyota inspired "just in time" production model where they try (and fail) to predict demand precisely in order to spend as little as possible. This in inhumane and foolish, public health shouldn't care about profit, we should simply build more bed capacity than there can be human demand for the beds. The same stands for ICUs.

Staffing is a bit harder because even if staff were treated like gods the toll of the trauma faced by nurses and doctors throughout the pandemic can't be cured with money. However, it would probably help if they were all payed more, had free education/tuition debts cancelled, given better holidays, etc, etc.

Don't let the capitalists manufacture consent that any of this was either inevitable or that we are powerless in the face of the antivaxxers. It only emboldens antivaxx ideology when the practical health policy is, "let them die." And remember, this affects everyone not just the antivaxxers. It affects the elderly in care homes, the vaccinated in hospitals, the innocent with unrelated health conditions, etc. We should be deploying our factories to fix the problem!

And this all remains true even in the face of unprecedented case numbers. If the strain from this wave on the health system is going to be 3-5x worse than we should be asking why our infrastructure isn't built to handle something 10-20x worse. It's the same horrible economics (disaster capitalism) that keep building wooden homes in the path of hurricanes in America. Why aren't the buildings concrete or built somewhere else? Because all that money made cyclically rebuilding matters more to this political system than the human and environmental cost.

This is so stupid. The issue at the moment isn't money. It's staffing/morale which is now causing the collapse of the health system as we are bleeding personnel due to the mistreatment by antivaxxers and how the government enables this by not properly supporting them/giving them proper security and giving the HCW the right to totally eject these assholes. Adding beds does nothing if there is no one to staff them, and even with the pay people are leaving because of the stress and emotional abuse they are being made to endure.

We have the most spineless generation of political "leaders" in history who are too busy worrying about potentially stepping on someone's toes that they are allowing antivaxxers to basically undermine society all because they are too afraid to make the hard decisions. It is far past time to introduce strict triage protocols at the hospitals again anti-vaxxers and prevent them from burdening the system any more. We keep saying that we are letting the anti-vaxxers "win" if we let them die. But I think completely the opposite, as we are just saving people that won't change and will be just as if not even more egregious in the future if we were to have another health emergency.

Let Darwin take charge here...

[Xyls]

[erowind]

.

[wjfox]

Is it that insane though? I already said that we should stop trying to save these people. If you get severely ill from COVID and are unvaccinated by choice (not medical condition/too young) you should die at home and not be admitted. Not the HCW jobs to deal with this. I'm growing tired of listening to people complain about this kind of behaviour when we know what the solution is for these people. Go home and let the quack docs pay a health visit so we can fully sever these people's last few attachments to reality.

Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.

This is so stupid. The issue at the moment isn't money. It's staffing/morale which is now causing the collapse of the health system as we are bleeding personnel due to the mistreatment by antivaxxers and how the government enables this by not properly supporting them/giving them proper security and giving the HCW the right to totally eject these assholes. Adding beds does nothing if there is no one to staff them, and even with the pay people are leaving because of the stress and emotional abuse they are being made to endure.

We have the most spineless generation of political "leaders" in history who are too busy worrying about potentially stepping on someone's toes that they are allowing antivaxxers to basically undermine society all because they are too afraid to make the hard decisions. It is far past time to introduce strict triage protocols at the hospitals again anti-vaxxers and prevent them from burdening the system any more. We keep saying that we are letting the anti-vaxxers "win" if we let them die. But I think completely the opposite, as we are just saving people that won't change and will be just as if not even more egregious in the future if we were to have another health emergency.

Let Darwin take charge here...

Agreed 100%. They should just be allowed to die off.

Society is objectively better off without antivaxxers, the vast majority of whom are racist and ignorant Trump cultists.

F*ck 'em.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Holy shit...

Zoom into central London.

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details ... -map/cases

The map was blue/green last week.

[erowind]

.

[caltrek]

If governance itself were competent to begin with--which includes blame on more than just the torries or republicans--then antivaxxers wouldn't be able to disrupt the lives of everyone else so effectively because our institutions would be strong enough to deal with them and handle the needs of everyone else at the same time.

It is true that blame should be spread on a bi-partisan basis. Still, the Democrats in the U.S. have been so much better than some Republicans that there is barely any comparison. Of course, there is a spectrum involved. Some moderate relatively responsible Republicans have not been that bad. Some Democrats have been better than others, especially those who support virtually every measure that you recommend.

Speaking of efforts of Democrats:

California to Require Health Care Workers Get Booster Shots
by Rebecca Falconer
December 21, 2021

https://www.axios.com/california-health ... f2eb1.html

Entire Article (less photo and update status note):

(Axios) California will require health care workers to get COVID-19 booster shots, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.

Driving the news: He's taking the step to "protect Californians during a potential winter surge," per a statement from Newsom's office. "With Omicron on the rise, we're taking immediate actions to protect Californians and ensure our hospitals are prepared," Newsom tweeted.

The big picture: The most populous state already has a coronavirus vaccine mandate for health care workers and other personnel.

• But officials have stepped up measures in response to the surge of the Omicron variant — which accounted for more than 73% of recent COVID-19 cases in the U.S. this week.

• The state has also reinstated a mask mandate in all indoor public spaces.

What's next: Newsom's office said details of the booster shot mandate would be announced Wednesday.

[caltrek]

Biden to Expand Access to At-home COVID Kits
by Matt Williams

https://theconversation.com/biden-to-ex ... sts-174148

Introduction:

(The Conversation) President Joe Biden has outlined plans to massively ramp up COVID-19 testing in an effort to curb – or at least slow – the spread of the highly infectious omicron variant across the U.S.

In a speech on Dec. 21, 2021, Biden said he aimed to get out “as many tests, as quickly as possible” and said free at-home kits would be sent out to Americans beginning in January.

At the forefront of the push against the omicron variant will be new federal testing sites and the distribution of 500 million rapid tests, free of charge, to the public. To enable the speedy rollout of tests, the White House committed to using the Defense Production Act, which allows the federal government to “allocate materials, services and facilities” from the private sector to meet the demands of the nation.

The focus on testing comes at a time of high demand for kits that diagnose infection. The arrival of the omicron variant has coincided with a desire by many to get tested before meeting up with loved ones over the holiday period, resulting in long lines outside test sites and a run on home kits being sold at pharmacies.

[R8Z]

[...]

I agree with you on a tangent.

The awareness that you're in an information bubble (no exceptions, everyone is) is a solid foundation to be able to discuss topics in a civilized manner. Dehumanizing people because they disagree with you on any topic is no bueno, me thinks.

I like to look at the data and come with my own, although obviously biased, opinions. Even if they are wrong, I am not buying any chewed opinions from "experts" anymore. Like looking at the data and realizing the fact that the odds of NOT dying from Omicron are at 99.96%, not even selecting by age or previous conditions [1].

It's good how this comparatively-mild pandemic [2] enabled us to test new technology onto billions (with a b) of subjects [3], accelerated development in many-many fronts (very importantly for me: remote work), and has opened the eyes of many for things like government overreach (or the lack of, if you're into that kind of thing) during lockdowns or vaccine mandates.

On retrospective, IMO now should be the time for society to try to gather the most reliable data already collected and evaluate what has worked and what hasn't during these strange times. And please, do that without trying to dehumanize people.

[1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... erview.pdf
[2] https://www.visualcapitalist.com/histor ... deadliest/
[3] https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covi ... tribution/

[caltrek]

Like looking at the data and realizing the fact that the odds of NOT dying from Omicron are at 99.96%, not even selecting by age or previous conditions [1].

I think it is a little early to come up with that conclusion:

• New cases are coming in at an accelerated rate. Deaths may lag behind because death does not occur as soon as one is infected. So, there may be a lag that produces an artificially low "odds of not dying" rate.

• Omicron is just the latest variant. If not placed under control, it may yet result in more variants. There is no guarantee that those subsequent variants will be less lethal.

[R8Z]

Like looking at the data and realizing the fact that the odds of NOT dying from Omicron are at 99.96%, not even selecting by age or previous conditions [1].

I think it is a little early to come up with that conclusion:'

• New cases are coming in at an accelerated rate. Deaths may lag behind because death does not occur as soon as one is infected. So, there may be a lag that produces an artificially low "odds of not dying" rate.

• Omicron is just the latest variant. If not placed under control, it may yet result in more variants. There is no guarantee that those subsequent variants will be less lethal.

You're correct, it is just a number at that specific time slice. I expect it to change just as you and others from the forum have previously warned.

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]

[Yuli Ban]